Metroid: Link to the Past
by MetroidPrimeRibs
Summary: The current incarnation of Link is a high school kid who's life suddenly changes while camping with friends. This will be a not-too-serious, Captain N-style story where our protagonist is sucked into a fantastic story. Rated M cause future proofing and violence is kinda hard to avoid when your main characters use swords, cannons, bombs, and missiles to solve puzzles.
1. Chapter 1: Setting a Useless Scene

Hello anyone who decided to check out this story. I won't be posting any notes like this before the chapters after this, but I wanted to introduce the story and talk about the schedule first. There is essentially no upload schedule. I'll do my best to upload a couple thousand word chapters around once a month but I can't really promise too much. I _will_ finish this story though. It won't be abandoned. At the time of uploading this chapter, I'll have at least the first 5 chapters edited and all set to go.

Next, the story is supposed to be kinda like a cheesy, Captain N -guy gets sucked into the computer- type of story. So it won't break the fourth wall, but it will be pretty lighthearted. I'll do my best to read reviews, and I'll try respond to a few everytime I update. And finally, I'm taking liberties with the lore of each world, and combining them with other games, so any mention of Elder Scrolls, Witcher, Mass Effect, or anything else will be integrated to buff the backstory and make people go, 'hey, I recognize that!'

Anyways, on with the story!

* * *

Chapter 1: Spring Time

Scratching at the corners of his paper, Link doodled abstract birds as his teacher lectured about physics. A bird landing on the windowsill drew his attention from the doodles to the outside. Sunlit the grassy lawn, filtered through the few trees and illuminated the flowers that grew on the school's lawn. ' _Only a few more weeks till I'm out of here.'_ Link brought his eyes back up to the projector and resumed taking down notes in the spaces of his packet that weren't already covered in doodles.

Eventually, the bell rang and Link slipped into the flow of students in the halls, winding his way to his final class of the day, Cooking. Link had a few friends in the class, but it was full of mostly girls because his guy friends didn't want to take a class that taught them how to do laundry, so they harped on him for taking such a feminine class. Link was really in it for the cooking. He pulled a collection of pre assembled spices out of his bag and dawdled on his phone until the rest of the class wandered in. The teacher was a tiny, slightly eccentric woman who had more than enough enthusiasm for the entire class. Today's assignment was to prepared a dish based on the Rushroom - particular species of mushroom with a large, star shaped, purple cap. There was no limit on the ingredients, with the exception of a minimum of one Rushroom.

Link smiled to himself as he hollowed out the interior of the rushroom caps, heated a pan, and diced a few vegetables. Simultaneously, he had rice cooking off to the side for the end. The hollowed out caps were placed in the small toaster oven to cook. Pouring olive oil in the pan, Link tossed the diced veggies in and browned them.

The smell of the rushrooms and the veggies cooking wafted through the classroom, mingling with the smells of the other students' dishes. Some have made pasta with mushroom toppers, some have cooked a steak accompanied by rushrooms, but no one else in the class had forgone a recipe and completely improvised their dish.

The veggies and rice were packed into the hollow caps, then combined. This created a veggie/rice/rushroom sandwich where the mushroom caps acted as buns. The teacher loved Link's ingenuity and improvisational skills, while the rest of the class wasn't a fan of using any form of mushroom in general. They all conceded to Link's dish, as it tasted the best. The class shared dishes and performed a blind vote as to who made the best dish. A few quiet minutes of eating various mushroom dishes, idle conversation, and surprisingly smooth cleanup passed before the teacher called for everyone's attention. Unsurprisingly, Link's dish won, though it was only a single vote between his Rushroom Caps and a popular student's steak and mushroom pita wraps.

* * *

Starting up his faded green cafe racer, Link headed left campus for his apartment to pick up his camping equipment. He had finally been able to make plans with a few friends to camp for the extended weekend. The coming Monday was a holiday, and and he wanted to make the absolute most of it. The bike rumbled beneath him as he took off home. Mentally he ran over his list for the weekend, ' _I need the tent obviously, a sleeping bag, pillow, clothes: pants, shorts, bathing suit, 2 shirts and a hoodie. Plus my food bag, a towel, and climbing gear- Oh hey, I should take the shortcut today.'_ Turning down a dirt road, Link picked up his pace marginally, hopping the bike from small bumps in the road and sliding it around a couple tight corners.

Jumping back onto paved roads, Link only had to ride a couple houses down before he pulled into his driveway. Parking his bike in front of the garage, he punched in the code to open the garage, slipped under the door before it fully opened and slapped the button to stop it half way up. Dropping his jacket, he bound up the stairs two at a time. In his room, Link opened his school bag and transferred the foil containing his rushroom dish, a speaker, and a notebook & pen to the camping pack. Link tossed the bag over one shoulder, ran down the stairs, scrawled a quick note to his parents that he left on the kitchen counter and snagged his green flight jacket. Grabbing a ratchet strap as he closed the garage door, Link secured the tent bag to the back of his bike, and hopped on. The backpack and tent were heavy enough to throw off his balance a little, so he compensated by sitting a little further forward. The bike fired up and Link took off down the road.

The trip was a little over an hour out of the suburbs that Link lived in, meaning he had to ride on a highway with all that gear on his bike. ' _This isn't too bad of a ride all in all, I mean the tractor trailers and bigger trucks can be pretty sketchy when they pass. Those rolling hills sure do look like fun to ride through, maybe I'll try to find somewhere to ride once we setup camp.'_ Link's bike had semi-offroad tires on it so he could ride around on trails and through the woods without the need for a second bike, but this also meant that riding on roads could be fairly bumpy and a little slow. The cruise took Link from the stop and go traffic and fairly flat landscape of his hometown through rolling fields and eventually he began to climb hills, and possibly causing slightly backed up traffic.

The fields became home to trees, and the trees turned to whole forests. Tall pines lines the sides of the road like natural fences that sometimes revealed a deer or two feeding on the underbrush. The speed limit also reduced to account for the winding and hilly nature of the roads. Link slowed his bike as he rolled into the small rustic village that was more or less the gateway to Lush National Park. People milled about the sidewalks, restaurant patios and the village green laughing and enjoying the nice weather. The low sun reflected off the pond that was bumped up against one corner of the village, throwing moving sunspots on the storefronts that danced and shimmered with a rainbow of hues. Further down the road, Link passed the small art museum that had been built the previous summer. ' _I need to remember to stop in there at some point. The building had such a cool form, like a future-concept log cabin.'_

The small village became obscured by the dense forests as he continued to ride the road that flowed over the landscape.

* * *

So what do you think? Not too shabby in my opinion. Once the story gets flowing I'll probably try to go back and revise the first two or three to better fit the meat of the story. Also I'd like to thank my friends; alien-outhouse on tumblr, she's great, reblogs lots of funny stuff that keeps me going throughout the days, and my best friend from college, KM.


	2. Chapter 2: Things get started here

Link's bike rumbled into the parking lot while the sun was still a way off the horizon, giving him a few hours of light to setup the tent and get a fire going. Stopping momentarily to sign in at the logbook, Link started into the the woods with all of the gear he had volunteered to bring. There was a walking path worn into the woods encircling a tiny lake that had about a dozen designated campsites surrounding it. His friends were supposed to show up with a canoe, their own personal effects, a hatchet, firewood, and the bulk of the food.

According to the logbook, a few of the sites were already occupied. ' _I guess it is that season already. Hopefully one of these has decent lake access and a spot to dock the canoe.'_ The trek to the campsite was short, roughly a half a mile around the tiny lake. Light shimmered through the trees where it was reflected by the calm water. The wind occasionally rustled the lush pines that created an overhead canopy opposite the underbrush. Wildlife was abundant, thought it didn't make itself readily apparent to those who didn't take the time to stop and observe. The buzzing of insects was interrupted occasionally by the sound of a woodpecker drilling for said insects, or a squirrel rustling around in the dead pine needles and leaves that made up the forest floor. Link noticed a Hot-Footed frog leap from a log to a stream as he passed by on the trail. The scent of pine, damp foliage, and the water filled Link with a sense of inner peace.

The site was easy to set up, with the tent going up in a few minutes and there was a firepit already dug and lined with rocks. All Link really had to do was clear away some leaves and branches. Leaving the camp to collect firewood, Link wandered a ways into the underbrush to fell a few small trees. Dead pine needles, leaves, and twigs crackled and snapped under his boots. The forest floor cushioned Link's steps and the spongy ground put a bit of pep in each step. Before he started chopping anything down Link scoured the area for already dead branches and logs to fuel his fire. A couple trips to collect smaller branches and a bit of tinder to get the fire going, and he decided to reward himself with a quick dip in the lake.

The blue green water sparkled in the afternoon sun, millions of small ripples reflecting the sun, creating a blanket of sparkles that undulated, ebbed, and flowed. Cool green pines surrounded the shore, with hints of bright green trees flickering between, in the breeze that came and went. Link trotted out into the crisp, clear lake water, splashing and kicking up silt. A murky trail became his wake as he got about waist deep. Diving under, Link swam out as the chill of the water caressed his body. Bobbing around letting the weak currents swish his body to and fro, Link just absorbed the atmosphere of the wilderness. It was a heavy atmosphere, but a comforting one that recharged his mental batteries. Like a thick blanket that one tosses into the air to left drift down onto oneself, as they curl up with some reading material and no plans for the entire day.

Crackling of underbrush on the closest shore drew Link's attention, his relaxed demeanor being replaced with curiosity. Link waited for a moment before paddling toward the shore. The rustling grew as Link began to wade toward the shore. Snatching his flip flops and shirt from a bush, he crept toward the rustling bushes, the sand muffling his steps. He slowly leaned in to pull aside a branch when the lake behind him exploded.

Toppling over into the bush, Link snapped his head to the lake to see the water churning like a really aggressive bathtub drain. The sound of the water quickly became nearly deafening, forcing Link to his knees as he clapped his hands over his ears. _Fuck!_ _Fuck! Fuck! What the hell is going on? Did some kind of bomb go off?_ Being occupied by his eardrums nearly bursting, it was completely understandable how Link didn't notice the ethereal tendrils reaching out of the vortex in the lake until it was far too late to get away.

Like a giant squid dragging a ship to a watery grave, the tentacles ensnared the suffering Link and dragged him down into the depths of the lake.

* * *

A throbbing sort of feel was resonating from his body. And a weird feeling on his mouth? Link slowly started to come to in a very confused and a very groggy manner. His limbs were tingly and sluggish to respond to his inputs. But something was forcing his arms down. Mustering up the strength, Link forced his eyes to open, fighting the feeling of his eyelids carving trenches across his eyeballs. It took a few moments to come into focus; _What the fuck? What's going on?_

A blur of what Link assumed was blonde hair was draped in his face as he tried to pull himself away to cough up lake water.

"...'s ...od, Zelda."

The voice was deep and a little raspy, like it's owner was dehydrated. The blur of blonde moved away from his face, revealing it was attached to a brilliant golden-orange and red blob. Behind that blob was another blob, one that was bright bluish purple and gold.

Doing his best to get his eyes focused, Link also noticed there was an unusual weight pressing down on one of his arms. Shifting his eyes toward the weight on his arm proved to be difficult, as if something were preventing his muscles from listening to his brain. Once his eyes finally got the message to look at his arm he saw a darkish blur with a few multi colored blinking lights.

"Link… ou h… me?"

A second voice, most likely belonging to the bluish purple blur, addressed him. Dragging his eyes from the device on his arm back to the blur, Link's ear registered a few beeps from a direction he wasn't able to identify before a wave of unconsciousness tried to overtake him. _Wait… I can't… fall… asleep… yet…_

Link wasn't able to finish his thought before the void embraced him again.

* * *

Like any good "sucked into a video game" trope our hero has some weird shit happen so he can begin his new life as an unwilling hero. Link doesn't really have much on his back right now, a pair of swim trunks and that's it, but does that mean that he'll be in trouble when he arrives in his new world? I'd say probably, but I haven't written it yet so who knows.

Also, again with the update schedule. At the time of writing this, I don't have a great job, and I need to buy a new car so I'm still getting a backlog of a few chapters going.


End file.
